Help create a building resilience rating system

The U.S. Resiliency Council® (USRC), a new organization that will implement a building rating system for the earthquake performance of buildings, was formed as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Its objective is to facilitate the use of technical standards and systems such as those developed by SEAONC and ARUP as a basis for owners, lenders, communities, and other stakeholders to evaluate and communicate building resilience objectively and consistently. A long term goal of the USRC will be to consider a broad range of perils beyond earthquakes (e.g., hurricane, flood, blast).

The USRC will award Earthquake Resilience Ratings, much like the US Green Building Council® issues LEED® ratings. The USRC will establish an accreditation program for professional engineers who wish to employ the rating system. The USRC will also include peer review and validation of ratings. These features of the USRC rating process are a direct response to stakeholders’ perceived need to ensure integrity of the system.

A key principle of the USRC is that it will not develop technical standards for assessing risk. Rather, the USRC’s board and technical advisory committees will identify existing or developing technical standards (e.g., SEAONC and ARUP systems) that can be used to generate a rating.

At this time, the USRC is looking for firms and individuals to become Founding Members of the organization. Founding members will demonstrate industry leadership to create widespread interest in greater earthquake resilience.  In addition, founding members will help establish initial priorities and long-term strategy of the USRC, including specific benefits of membership. If you have such an interest please contact EERI Member Ron Mayes (rlmayes@sgh.com; 415-343-3031) for further details.